Tucker, a Rotary Scholar who attended the University of Georgia, has quickly become my closest friend here. A very intelligent guy, he is studying Arabic and the politics of the Middle East and hopes to become fluent in written and spoken Arabic within the next three years, which is no easy task. He is what you might call fanatical about his love for his alma mater to the point that he wakes at 4 am, accompanied by a few beers to watch their football games with a grainy reception on the internet. You will find no more soft-spoken and kind person other than if you are talking about any one of Georgia's competitors. He has even gone so far as to admit that his love for UGA borders on an unhealthy obsession to which I replied, "only if you denied it would I be worried." The two of us along with Annalise, another Rotary scholar from California, transplanted from New York, decided to go for a little trip to the Dead Sea, Masada (a mountaintop fortress overlooking the Dead Sea), winding up in Jerusalem.
We woke early and climbed a bus packed with soldiers, their uniquitous dull green fatigues lining most of the back rows. Being idealistic and rules-oriented Americans we are, we hoped that the semblance of a line to board the bus would not merely be another desert mirage in this country. Unfortunately, we were the last to board after being shoved and pushed to the back by grandmothers and teenage girls. Thus, the only place available for yours truly was in the middle of the very back row snuggled between two disgruntled IDF (Israeli Defense Force) soldiers. At a glance, I judged them to be in their late teens at the most. I don't think either had ever really needed to shave. (FYI- every Israeli citizen upon graduation from high school must serve in the military: boys for three years and girls for two.) The butts of their M-16s sat on the floor, barrels pointing to the ceiling. I immediately envisioned a bumpy ride to Jerusalem and a few stray rounds popping off through the ceiling. The nap I was hoping for wasn't going to be happening. It must be said here that the IDF holds a particularly important place in not only the defense of the country but also its personality and upbringing. The IDF is seen as when children turn into adults and although nearly all Israelis loath the experience they believe it to be the most formative experience of their lives. It is impossible to go anywhere in this country without seeing numerous soldiers. I should feel safer having this standing army ready at any moment to take out would-be terrorists but somehow I don't.
The road out of Jeruslem towards the Dead Sea descends quickly through rocky hills, strewn with the random goat-herding encampment, comprised of small huts made of corrugated metal. A more desolate landscape I cannot imagine. Barren rock as far as the eye can see aside from a few perfectly lined groves of palm trees beside the highway that seem ridiculously out of place. The highway winds its way down through the Occupied Territories until it turns a corner and comes immediately upon the Northernmost part of this lake, which is the lowest point on the surface of the planet at nearly 1400 feet below sea level. We descended from the bus and stepped into one of the least hospitable environments I could think of. The temperature is about 100 degrees on a cool September afternoon. The smell reminded me of traveling to Yellowstone and visiting sulfur geysers. The first stop on the trip would be Qumran, the place where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. They were found by a goat-herder who in an apocryphal story went to Bethlehem to get them made into a new pair of sandals as they were supposedly written on animal skins. They were actually found by a goat-herder in the mid-20th Century but are written on parchment and papyrus and are the only remnants of the Hebrew Bible written before 200 BCE. We moved quickly onto Ein Gedi, where there is a public beach where we could swim, or rather float, and hoped to get some respite from the heat of the day. The custom is to rub mud found on the shores of the lake, let it dry then wash it off in the Sea. It is such a strange sensation to be in a body of water that it is impossible to sink in. In a strange way it almost feels like flying. I must warn you, however, that if you spend too much time in the the water, which is over 30% salt compared to 3 or 4% in the Ocean, you (both men and women) might feel some rather uncomfortable side effects in rather sensitive places. Not to worry, there is no long-term damage. We moved onto Masada Guest House, one of the nicest and biggest hostels I have ever seen, which resides at the base of the Masada mountain fortress, and managed a few hours of sleep before an early start the next day.
We awoke at 430 to get hiking by 5am in order to get to the top of the mountain by sunrise at 630. We were guided by a full moon and climbed the 450 meters to the top in 80 degree heat. Needless to say, I was uncomfortably warm. Sitting on one of the ancient ledges of the fortress where 900 Jews had taken their own lives rather than be submitted to enslavement by the Romans in the 1st Century CE, we waited patiently for the sun to rise. The sky was alive with oranges and reds for a half an hour before the first sliver of sun peaked its head from behind the mountains in Jordan. The sight is truly awe-inspiring. This hike to watch the sun rise at Masada is a rite of passage for all Israelis and a must for any tourist. The fortress itself is one of the more incredible building achievements I have seen, with store rooms, several palaces, baths, a large quarry, and a complicated network of cisterns and channels that garnered what little rainwater the area provided for the inhabitants to survive in such a harsh environment. The Romans spent six months building a ramp of earth and rock to bring the last of the Jewish rebels under Roman control. When they finally broke through the walls to revel in their victory only to find corpses, their spirits were broken. A handful of survivors who had hid in the cisterns told the story of how 10 soldiers had been assigned the task of killing every man, woman and child then one soldier had killed the other nine before taking his own life. We came down the mountain and quickly headed to the large pool. In the shadow of this ancient place, we sunbathed and splashed in the cool water while the oppressive heat of an afternoon on the banks of the Dead Sea surrounded us.
To be continued...
Dead Sea Scrolls cave
Chillin' in the Dead Sea
Tucker and Annalise with Katja (German friend)
Tucker and Annalise waiting for the sunrise
Sunrise from Masada
Perspiring at sunrise
Masada building
Maybe the grey shirt wasn't such a good choice
